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To be struck is hard, but not to be chastened by the blow is harder. One of the prophets says, speaking of Israel, whose heart is hard and uncircumcised: Lord, you have scourged them, and they have not grieved; you have chastened them, and they have refused to receive correction. And again, And the people has not turned, until it was struck; and, Why has my people turned away with a wicked turning, from which it will be utterly shattered and destroyed?

16. It is a fearful thing, therefore, brothers, to fall into the hands of the living God; and fearful is the face of the Lord upon those who do evil, wiping out their wickedness with utter destruction; and fearful is the hearing of God, perceiving even the voice of Abel through his silent blood; and fearful are the feet overtaking wickedness; and fearful is the fullness of the universe, so that there is nowhere to flee from God's motion, not by flying up to heaven, not by going down into Hades, not by escaping to the east, not by being hidden in the depths or ends of the sea. And Nahum the Elkoshite fears before me, in what he proclaims as the oracle against Nineveh, the jealous God, and the Lord taking vengeance with wrath upon His adversaries, and using such an abundance of severity, that not even a second vengeance is left against the wicked. For when I hear Isaiah, threatening the people of Sodom and the rulers of Gomorrah, and saying: Why should you be struck any more, you that add iniquity? I am almost filled with shuddering, and am overcome with tears. It is not possible, he says, to find an additional blow for an additional sin; so thoroughly have you gone through everything, and exhausted every kind of blow, always provoking some newer one through your own wickedness. There is no wound, nor bruise, nor festering sore; the whole body, he says, is the blow, and it is also incurable. For it is not possible to apply a mollifying ointment, nor oil, nor bandages. And I pass over the rest of the threat, lest I become heavier than your present blow. 35.957

17. But let us recognize the cause of the evil. From where have the harvests dried up, the storehouses been put to shame, and the pasture of the flocks failed? The good things of the earth have diminished, the plains were not filled with fatness, but with gloom; the valleys did not abound in grain, but were lamented; the mountains did not drip with sweetness, as later for the just, but were stripped of their adornment and dishonored, and received the curse of Gilboa from the opposite things? The whole earth has become as it was from the beginning, before it was adorned with its own beauties. You have visited the earth, and made it drunk, but with a wicked visitation and a deadly drunkenness. Alas for the sight! For us, the signs of abundance are in the stalk, and the sowing is recognized by small remnants, and our harvest barely bears firstfruits to the Lord, being measured in handfuls rather than months. Such is the wealth of the ungodly, such are the harvests of those who sow wickedly; to look for, as the ancient curse says, much, and to bring in little; to sow, and not to reap; to plant, and not to press out; where ten yoke of oxen work, to produce one jar; and to hear of fruitfulness among others, while they themselves are pressed by want. From where do these things come, and what is the cause of the shattering? Let us not wait to be reproved by others; let us become examiners of ourselves. A great remedy for wickedness is both confession and flight from the fault. I first, just as I announced from above to my people, and have fulfilled the work of the watchman. (for I did not hide the coming sword, that I might save both my own soul, and those of my hearers); so I will also announce the disobedience of my people, making their things my own; if somehow I might thus obtain some philanthropy and relief.

18. One of us has oppressed a poor man, and snatched away a portion of land, and wrongly crossed a boundary, either by stealing or by tyrannizing, and joined house to house, and field to field, that he might take something away from his neighbor; and has striven to have no neighbor, as if he would dwell alone upon the earth. Another has defiled the land with usury and avarice, and

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πληγῆναι χαλεπὸν, ἀλλὰ μὴ σωφρονισθῆναι τῇ πληγῇ χαλεπώτερον. Φησί τις τῶν προφητῶν, περὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ λέγων, τοῦ σκληροῦ καὶ ἀπεριτμήτου τὴν καρδίαν· Κύριε, ἐμαστίγωσας αὐτοὺς, καὶ οὐκ ἐπόνεσαν· ἐπαί δευσας αὐτοὺς, καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν δέξασθαι παιδείαν· καὶ πάλιν, Καὶ ὁ λαὸς οὐκ ἐπεστράφη, ἕως ἐπλήγη· καὶ, Τί ὅτι ἀπεστράφη ὁ λαός μου ἀποστροφὴν πονηρὰν, ἐξ ἧς τέλεον συντρι βήσεται, καὶ καταφθαρήσεται;

Ιςʹ. Φοβερὸν μὲν οὖν, ἀδελφοὶ, τὸ ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς χεῖρας Θεοῦ ζῶντος· φοβερὸν δὲ τὸ πρόσωπον Κυρίου ἐπὶ ποιοῦντας κακὰ, καὶ πανωλεθρίᾳ τὴν κακίαν ἐξαφανίζον· φοβερὰ δὲ ἀκοὴ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῆς Ἄβελ φωνῆς αἰσθανομένη διὰ τοῦ σιγῶντος αἵματος· φοβε ροὶ δὲ πόδες πονηρίαν καταλαμβάνοντες· φοβερὰ δὲ τοῦ παντὸς πλήρωσις, ὡς μὴ εἶναι μηδαμοῦ φυ γεῖν Θεοῦ κίνησιν, μὴ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀναπτάντα, μὴ εἰς ᾅδου χωρήσαντα, μὴ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς ἀποδράντα, μὴ θαλάσσης ἐναποκρυβέντα βυθοῖς ἢ πέρασι. Φοβεῖ ται δὲ πρὸ ἐμοῦ καὶ Ναοὺμ ὁ Ἑλκεσαῖος, ἐν οἷς τὸ κατὰ Νινευῒ λῆμμα δημοσιεύει, τὸν ζηλωτὴν Θεὸν, καὶ ἐκδικοῦντα Κύριον μετὰ θυμοῦ τοὺς ὑπεν αντίους, καὶ τοσαύτῃ χρώμενον ἀποτομίας περιουσίᾳ, ὡς μηδὲ δευτέραν ὑπολείπεσθαι κατὰ τῶν πονηρῶν ἐκδίκησιν. Ἡσαΐου μὲν γὰρ ὅταν ἀκούσω, τῷ λαῷ Σοδόμων καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσι Γομόῤῥας ἀπειλοῦντος, καὶ λέγοντος· Τί ἔτι πληγῆτε, προστιθέντες ἀνομίαν; μικροῦ καὶ φρίκης πληροῦμαι, καὶ συγ χέομαι δάκρυσιν. Οὐκ ἔστι, φησὶ, τῇ προσθήκῃ τῆς ἁμαρτίας προσθήκην πληγῆς ἐξευρεῖν· οὕτω πάντα διεξεληλύθατε, καὶ πᾶν εἶδος πληγῆς ἐκενώσατε, ἀεί τινα καινοτέραν διὰ τῆς κακίας τῆς ἑαυτῶν προ καλούμενοι. Οὐκ ἔστι τραῦμα, οὐδὲ μώλωψ, οὔτε πληγὴ φλεγμαίνουσα· ὁλοσώματος, φησὶν, ἡ πληγὴ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀθεράπευτος. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστι μά λαγμα ἐπιθεῖναι, οὔτε ἔλαιον, οὔτε καταδέσμους. Καὶ παρίημι τὰ ἑξῆς τῆς ἀπειλῆς, ἵνα μὴ τῆς παρούσης ὑμῖν πληγῆς βαρύτερος γένωμαι. 35.957

ΙΖʹ. Πλὴν ἐπιγνῶμεν τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν. Πό θεν ἐξηράνθησαν γεωργίαι, ᾐσχύνθησαν ἀποθῆ και, καὶ νομὴ ποιμνίων ἐξέλιπεν, ὠλιγώθη τὰ ὡραῖα τῆς γῆς, οὐκ ἐπλήσθη τὰ πεδία πιότητος, ἀλλὰ κατηφείας· οὐκ ἐπλήθυναν αἱ κοιλάδες σῖτον, ἀλλ' ἐκλαύσθησαν· οὐκ ἐστάλαξε τὰ ὄρη γλυκασμὸν, ὡς ὕστερον τοῖς δικαίοις, ἀλλ' ἀπεκοσμήθη καὶ ἠτι μάσθη, καὶ τὴν Γελβουὲ κατάραν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐδέξατο; Γέγονεν ὡς τὸ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς πᾶσα ἡ γῆ, πρὶν κοσμηθῆναι τοῖς ἑαυτῆς κάλλεσιν. Ἐπεσκέψω μὲν τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐμέθυσας αὐτὴν, ἀλλ' ἐπισκοπὴν πονηρὰν καὶ μέθην ὀλέθριον. Φεῦ τοῦ θεάματος! ἐν καλάμῃ τὰ τῆς εὐφορίας ἡμῖν, καὶ μικροῖς λειψάνοις ἡ σπορὰ γνωρίζεται, καὶ μόλις ἀπαρχὰς Κυρίῳ τὸ θέρος ἡμῶν καρποφορεῖ, μησὶ μᾶλλον ἢ δρά γμασι καταλαμβανόμενον. Τοιοῦτος ὁ πλοῦτος τῶν ἀσεβῶν, τοιαῦτα τὰ τῶν κακῶς σπειρόντων γεώργια· ἐπιβλέψαι, ὡς ἡ παλαιὰ κατάρα, πλείονα, καὶ εἰσ ενεγκεῖν ὀλίγα· σπεῖραι, καὶ μὴ ἀμῆσαι· φυτεῦσαι, καὶ μὴ ἐκθλῖψαι· οὗ ἐργῶνται δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν, ποιῆσαι κεράμιον ἕν· καὶ παρ' ἄλλοις ἀκούειν τὴν εὐκαρπίαν, αὐτοὺς ἐνδείᾳ πιεζομένους. Πόθεν ταῦτα, καὶ τίς ἡ αἰτία τοῦ θραύσματος; Μὴ ἀνα μείνωμεν ὑπ' ἄλλων ἐλεγχθῆναι· ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἐξετα σταὶ γενώμεθα. Μέγα κακίας φάρμακον, καὶ ὁμολο γία, καὶ φυγὴ τοῦ πταίσματος. Ἐγὼ πρῶτος, ὥσπερ ἀνήγγειλα τῷ λαῷ μου ἄνωθεν, καὶ τὸ τοῦ σκο ποῦ ἔργον πεπλήρωκα. (οὐ γὰρ ἔκρυψα τὴν ἐρχο μένην ῥομφαίαν, ἵνα καὶ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀκουόντων περιποιήσωμαι)· οὕτως ἀναγγελῶ καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ μου τὴν ἀπείθειαν, ἐμαυτοῦ τὰ ἐκείνου ποιούμενος· εἴ πως ἂν οὕτω τύχοιμί τινος φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἀναψύξεως.

ΙΗʹ. Ὁ μέν τις ἡμῶν ἐξέθλιψε πένητα, καὶ μοῖραν γῆς παρεσπάσατο, καὶ ὅριον ὑπερέβη κακῶς, ἢ κλέψας, ἢ τυραννήσας, καὶ συνῆψεν οἰκίαν πρὸς οἰκίαν, καὶ ἀγρὸν πρὸς ἀγρὸν, ἵνα τι τοῦ πλησίον ἀφέληται· καὶ μηδένα ἔχειν ἐφιλονείκησε γείτονα, ὡς μόνος οἰκήσων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Ὁ δὲ τόκοις καὶ πλεονασμοῖς τὴν γῆν ἐμίανε, καὶ